Arts and Technology

When we think of an “artist,” we tend to think of easels, paintbrushes, and pencils. But today’s artists and designers have expanded beyond the traditional tools to use technology as a medium. As technology becomes more accessible, it appeals to artists as an exciting way to take creative expression beyond the canvas.

With this melding of tech and art Alberta’s educational institutions have fully embraced this phenomenon over the past several years.

The University of Lethbridge offers a New Media program, arming students with knowledge of a range of techniques including video art, digital painting, and three-dimensional rendering. Establishing an early familiarity with a variety of technical skills and software is producing a new generation of artists who use digital tools as a medium of self-expression and communication.

The Alberta College of Art and Design also offers a Media Arts and Digital Technologies program that teaches audio, video, programming, and electronics combined with education in art history and traditional practices. The students emerging from these programs are inspired not only to paint and draw but to bring their images to life with sound, animation, video, and 3D lifelike forms.

In addition to academia, Alberta Fashion Designers are joining the movement in creating both practical and fantastical pieces fused with digital technologies. Calgary’s Make Fashion festival, debuting this year, has paired seasoned fashion designers with engineers and technology enthusiasts. The pairing of talents has allowed for innovated garments that respond to touch, sound, and programming. (The Make Fashion Gala is January 25, 2013; learn more at http://www.makefashion.ca)

Technology has also been embraced by theatre as playwrights and directors begin to discover new ways to engage with their audience. A new piece by Alberta theatre group Swallow-a-Bicycle titled “eavesdrop” was built around personal audio experiences. The performance takes place in a public coffee shop and patrons are given individual headsets. The actors mime the performance amidst the cafe patrons while the sounds and voices are transmitted wirelessly to the headphones of the audience. The result is a performance within the midst of a public scenario where some patrons are unaware that the performance is even taking place.

“With each new show, our company is always seeking to innovate further,” says Mark Hopkins, Co-Artistic Director of Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre and one of Calgary’s 2012 Top 40’s. “That means being aware of the opportunities offered by new technology and fearlessly incorporating it into our work. When we needed a way to creatively ‘eavesdrop’ on characters in a coffee shop, for example, we ended up shipping wireless headphones out from Australia!” The integration of technology into the work allows for a new form of site-specific theatre and a unique experience for both performers and audience.

Video screens, projectors, and audio equipment are becoming a common sight in art galleries as visual artists move away from traditional media. Endeavour Arts, a Calgary art gallery, puts a strong focus on innovative and digital works. A recent exhibit featured Edmonton artist Doug Seidl, a web designer with a traditional artist background, who creates experimental digital paintings. His recent work explores the juxtaposition of opposing ideas and includes organic and manufactured, tangible and virtual, old and modern, real and fantasy.

As artists, performers, and designers continue to trade paints and pencils for software and audio equipment, expect to see big changes in your art galleries, runways and performance halls. Today’s canvas is more than a stretched fabric; it’s an expanded palette of ideas and technology.

Chelsea is a Board Member for Digital Alberta who works as a creative director and user experience designer focused on startups and technology. She blogs about technology and design careers at her blog Design Ergomania. Full Bio & Twitter.

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